When I think about how "enrichments" work at Kalexedy Learning Center, I'm reminded of my favorite sentence from the Holstee Manifesto which says, "Life is about the people you meet, and the things you create with them so go out and start creating." This sentiment motivates me to select or design activities that are integral to this sentiment.
So, what is an enrichment activity? It's a learning experience that involve a daily hour-long lesson which combines learning new skills, introducing students to a new experience or culture, participating in a STEAM challenge together, participatory science projects or creating art. Finding something that everyone in your classroom is interested in learning is challenging enough, and planning lessons for multi-age classrooms compounds that -- luckily there are an almost infinite amount of topics that we can bring to our students at Kalexedy to grow their world beyond their curriculum! I'm grateful for the resources and our location in Framingham which allows us outdoor space and also plenty of room to make messes and work collaboratively as a microschool.
Our microschool’s currently enrolled ages range across five years between the youngest and oldest and includes siblings. The strength of a multi-age classroom has proven effective in many different educational models, Montessori being the one most are familiar with nowadays, but homeschools with siblings have always been multi-age. In a given week we can be outdoors identifying birds for a participatory science project (this week is Celebrate Urban Birds), creating art together, a student-led Spy School, building career skills, or completing a Destination Imagination challenge.
Encouraging siblings across different age ranges to participate in projects together has been challenging at times, but the reward is always high. The older students explain references that the younger students may have missed, often pairing up to provide leadership. The younger students provide comic relief and much needed infusion of energy! The younger students especially, in regards to engineering challenges, do not bring in preconceived ideas of what they should make to be successful and are willing to take more risks. In turn, this type of energy propels the older students to let go of their self-consciousness and try something new.
I’m always grateful for a mixed-age classroom because it addresses the whole student – the older students can begin to see themselves as leaders and the younger students have built-in role models. Even though their learning is differentiated thanks to their Personalized Learning Plans, they each have their own contribution to the group. Book recommendations, music preferences, even Halloween costume ideas – it’s always a joy (and I would argue a necessity for success) to have diverse voices in the classroom!
The many benefits of an enrichment activity for our microschool are clear in how they are presented -- often from different people showing their strengths or interests. They are planned either by our paid university interns, a student, or myself which brings something into their lives that they wouldn’t encounter in their curriculum. Even though their Personalized Learning Plans have the potential to be the most flexible in the world, the strength of bringing students together to reach a common goal cannot be underestimated. I’m so grateful every day for my multi-age classroom and that the fun daily enrichments are a departure from their regular work. I know so many more students can benefit from this model -- as their academic mentor, it's exciting to see my students collaborate, have fun and learn something new each day by creating something together.
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